A new beginning
by zetca
Summary: What if the Kyuubi were fully sealed? What if what everyone thought was the Kyuubi was a bloodline?
1. Chapter 1

**First fic, let me know of any contradictions or unclear parts. Flame if you want but I'd prefer constructive criticism. If your argument is solely "OMG, your writings sux" or similar, I will judge you to be a waste of genetic material, and essentially an oxygen-thief.**

**Pairing will be secondary to the main story and is currently undecided. However, I'd shoot myself before writing yaoi, it doesn't interest me. It also won't be NaruHina, or NaruSaku, as I prefer more unusual pairings.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it is the property of Kishimoto. Stop sending me hate mail, and telling me the Uchiha is overpowered. I also have no claim to some of the nods to other anime, TV programs or films, obscure or otherwise. On the other hand, this story is mine and I reserve the right to ritually execute any and all characters that I deem surplus to requirements, in as many gruesome ways as I can think of. I am the dictator here, and comments may be taken under advisement, but will be completely ignored if they have no basis in reality. Or a parallel universe in which ninja can make dragons out of elements.**

**Sorry, slight power-trip there.**

" Demon " – speech

'Demon' – thoughts

_Demon _– flashback

"**Demon" **– summons and Biju speech, jutsu names, and quotes

A new beginning

Chapter 1: Aaaah, giant killer fox!

Konoha was burning, set ablaze by the Kyuubi, a demonic nine-tailed fox. Burning in the night like a candle that had flared to its highest peak. Burning like the will of fire burns in those defending the village.

Shinobi were swept aside and crushed by the monstrous creature, trying desperately to buy some time for their leader to finish his preparations. Growls filled the air, as the Kyuubi was hit with a cluster of fireballs from a group of chuunin. Screams quickly replaced them, as citizens bore witness to the brave ninjas' demises, when a tail whipped down and crushed both the ninjas and 3 nearby buildings.

Things were looking grim until an enormous toad appeared from a poof of smoke. Atop his head stood the leader of the village, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Clad in a robe decorated with flames, he urged his mount forwards, his arms cradled protectively around a small bundle.

Battle was joined between the two titanic creatures, the toad armed with a kodaichi, the fox with its teeth, tails and claws. While they battled, the Fourth gathered his chakra for his final jutsu. The fox broke through the toad's defence, and opened a gash over its eye. The Fourth struck in that moment, activating the seal on the bundle, and summoning the Shinigami, pulling the fox's soul into the bundle, which was revealed to be a sleeping baby. Startled into awareness, the baby began crying, even as the Shinigami faded from the battlefield, taking with it the soul of the Fourth. The giant toad, feeling his summoner dying, was sent back to the summons plane, with a new battle wound to show off, and stories to tell his sons about how the greatest shinobi in the world sacrificed himself to protect his village. The Fourth's body fell to the ground, alongside the screaming baby. The fall rendered the baby unconscious, an unusual fact, since it fell over 100 feet.

This was the scene that greeted the Third Hokage and the remaining shinobi. The body of the Fourth was lying next to a sleeping (unconscious, but no-one knew that) baby. Whisker-like marks were clearly visible on the baby's face, as well as the seal on its stomach. The Third picked up the baby, and said, "As the Fourth decreed, you shall be named Uzumaki Naruto. Maelstrom hmm. Fitting. Somehow, I have a feeling trouble is going to swirl around you from now on."

_Flashback_

_The Fourth was sat in the Hokage's office, going over the necessary preparations in his head and poring over scrolls, when he heard a knock at the door. "Enter" he called, setting the scroll he was holding to one side, and watched as Sarutobi Sasuke, the aged Third Hokage, walked in. "Have you got a plan to defeat the fox," Sarutobi asked. _

"_Yes, but it is going to take some time for all the pieces to come together," replied Minato. _

"_Would you mind filling me in?" _

"_I'm going to seal it away, just like the scroll states," Minato said, gesturing at a scroll on his desk."Although, since the Kyuubi is the most powerful of the Biju, it will have to take an exceptionally powerful seal to do it. So I'm going to use the Shiki Fuuin to summon the Shinigami, then instead of sealing the Kyuubi inside me, I will use this sealing array to transfer the point of sealing to the vessel. The problem is what to seal it away in. Since the Kyuubi is so powerful, ordinary vessels won't work. The only option is to seal it into something with a chakra network, but the fox's chakra is so potent, and there's so much of it, that if I seal it into an adult, they'll die almost instantly, and the fox will be freed." _

"_Don't tell me –" _

"_The only thing with a chakra system malleable enough to hold the fox... is a human baby. A newborn. Our only hope now is that Kushina gives birth soon enough for me to seal the fox away before too much damage is done." _

"_You would turn your own son into a Jinchuuriki?" _

"_If there were any other child that could be used, I would still do it this way. I couldn't ask someone else to give up their child for this, if I refuse to do it to my own son. Believe me, if there were any other way to stop it, without sealing it, I'd do it in a heartbeat. There is just no time left to find alternatives." Minato paused, then looked Sarutobi straight in the eye. "Will you keep an eye on the child after I seal the fox? You will probably be renamed Hokage after I fall."_

"_You can count on me, my friend. However, why don't you let me do the sealing? You are young, you have your whole life ahead of you. I've lived mine, and I don't have as long left as you do by a long shot."_

_Minato smiled, "It's a nice gesture, but you can't use the seal like this. It takes a seal master, and even Jiraya couldn't use it." He looked about to say more, but a loud banging on the door interrupted him. "What is it?" he yelled._

"_The fox has been spotted sir. Approximately 20 miles away, but closing fast. The first wave has gone to slow it down."_

"_Damn it." Minato snarled, "We're not ready just yet. I'm sorry Sarutobi, but we'll have to continue this at the hospital. I'll catch up, I just need to take care of a few things first."_

_Sarutobi nodded, and shunshined away. Minato grabbed at a few scrolls, intending to look at them at the hospital, but knocked one off the desk. 'Damn it, to think I was wishing for some time off paperwork, then this happens. Hang on a second,' he thought as he picked up the scroll. He found his eyes drawn to a line in the scroll which read, "__**Though the number of tails on a Biju denotes its strength, the focus of its power lies elsewhere.**__" This sparked something within his thought processes and he started searching frantically for specific scrolls. 'Where are they, I know I saw something relevant in them, where are they, damn it why are things always in the last place you look? Well, duh, because you stop searching once you find them, it's just common sense... Focus damn it, you're getting side tracked. Aha!" He stopped as he found the scrolls he was looking for. "Lets see, basic sealing theory, the grids, practical applications, bingo, permanent sealing. __**"To permanently seal something away, the focus must be aligned with a mark resembling it on the vessel."**__ Good job I accidentally brought "Starting Seals" in here. Now for the other part. Anatomy of animals, birds no, reptiles, probably not, fish, definitely no, mammals, gotta be. Now for foxes... __**"... However, without their whiskers, a fox cannot balance, making this their most important feature."**_

_Minato felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. He could do it! He could seal it away for good! It would still claim his life, but the fox wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else. The seal would be perfect!_

_His thoughts still whirling round his head, he teleported to the hospital himself._

_--_

_When he arrived at the hospital, he found his predecessor waiting for him alongside a medic-nin, with sombre looks on their faces. The old ninja was carrying a bundle of cloths in his arms. "Hokage-sama," the medic said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news. Five minutes ago, Uzumaki Kushina gave birth to a boy-"_

"_That's great news... isn't it?" Minato interrupted._

"_Let the man finish, Minato. Carry on, doctor."_

"_Thank you, Hokage-sama. The child is quite healthy; however, there were complications with the birth."_

"_What complications?" Minato frowned._

"_Kushina began to bleed out into her abdomen. There was nothing we could do to stop it, she bled out too quickly and went into cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead three minutes ago. I'm sorry." The doctor turned and left the man to his grief. After about a minute of silence, Sarutobi broke it by saying "Minato?"_

_All Minato could do was let out a long, loud wail of grief, pain, and horror intermingled. _

"_Minato," Sarutobi said again, "It's time. I'm sorry but we must act now. The child-"_

"_Naruto," Minato choked out. "His name is Uzumaki Naruto. We decided that together." He broke down again._

"_Naruto must be prepared for the seal. Here, take him." At this, the old man passed the bundle he was carrying. "Hold your son, the gift that Kushina gave her life to give to the world. Take him to your office, and prepare the seal. You know what must be done."_

_Minato took his son with trembling hands and nodded once, before using __**shunshin **__to get to his office. Alone with his son, he swallowed his tears, bottled his grief, and gritted his teeth, so he could do what needed to be done. He started by drawing the seal that allowed the Shiki Fuuin to be used to seal the fox into his son onto his son's stomach. He followed that up by drawing the seals required to hold the great beast. Finally, ten minutes after he started, he drew six whisker marks on Naruto's face. As he gazed down at his son, grief in his eyes, he said, "I'm sorry that things can't turn out the way I'd hoped for us, Naruto. Your mother and I wanted you to grow up knowing the love of a family. We wanted to watch you grow up, take your first steps, use your first jutsu. We wanted to be there as you went to the academy, see you on the day of your graduation, hear you complain about D-rank missions, and then the excitement of C-ranks. All that has been taken away from us." Here, Minato wiped away a few tears that had gathered in his eyes. "All I can do now is tell you that your mother and I love you very much. You're going to have a tough life without parents, but I know you can survive. Grow up to be the best shinobi the world has ever seen, and tell me about it when we meet in the afterlife. It's time we show that in our clan, we never give up!" With this, he strode out of the office with his son in his arms once more._

_At the foot of the tower, he met with Sarutobi for the last time. "Sarutobi, all I ask is that on his eighteenth birthday, you tell Naruto of his heritage, and give him these scrolls. The first is a letter, explaining things to him. The rest are jutsu scrolls we wanted him to have. And ..." here he hesitated for a second, "I hope that the villagers can see him as a hero, for holding the Kyuubi at bay, and protecting them through his own life."_

"_I will do as you ask, Minato-kun," Sarutobi replied. "Good luck."_

"_**Kuchiyose no jutsu.**__" Minato cried, and summoned Gamabunta, the toad boss. "Gamabunta, we need to protect the village from the fox. I need you to distract it while I summon the Shinigami to deal with it."_

"_**Fine then Minato. Hold on!"**__ replied Gamabunta. _

'_Damn,' thought Minato, as they rushed towards the Kyuubi, 'I forgot to tell Sarutobi about the improvements I made to the seal.'_

_Flashback ends_

Sarutobi carried the baby back to the Hokage's tower, surrounded by some of the ANBU who had been at the clearing. They had already lost one Hokage that night, they weren't about to risk losing a second to a surprise attack. This may make them seem paranoid, but then again, the Third did make it back without any shinobi attacking them. The ANBU are trained to expect the worst in any situation, and their prudence is occasionally mistaken for paranoia. The fact that three rabbits were immolated does nothing to disprove the fact that their defence is effective.

The citizens and shinobi alike had gathered at the foot of the tower, waiting for someone to explain what had happened to "the giant killer fox" as some citizens had dubbed the Kyuubi. When the Third appeared, the whole congregation went silent. The Third stepped up onto a small podium that had been erected, and cleared his throat before saying, "The threat of the Kyuubi is over." With these words, the villagers started celebrating, though a couple of the shinobi wondered why the Fourth hadn't told them this himself. The Third let this go on for a minute, and then raised his hand. "Enough," he said, and silence descended once more. "This victory however, was not without cost. We have lost many brave shinobi today, including the Fourth." Gasps were heard around the gathering, and some of the crowd burst into tears. "He sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi away into this child here. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, and the Fourth's last request was for the village to see him as a hero."

Mutterings at this were heard, and a cry of, "Finish the demon while it's weak," went up from somewhere in the crowd. The muttering grew louder at that, and a woman cried out "He killed the Fourth, we must take vengeance."

The Third cried out, "Silence. This is an innocent child. He only has the Kyuubi **sealed** in him. He is not the Kyuubi reincarnated."

Cries of, "But the Kyuubi might break out," and "We need to be sure. Kill it," sounded out over the group.

The Third responded with, "NO! You shall not harm this boy. Henceforth, he shall be watched by ANBU, who will stop any attacks on the child. Any attackers taken alive shall be given over to Ibiki. It is also forbidden to tell the younger generations about the Kyuubi. As far as they shall know, the Kyuubi died tonight at the hands of Yondaime, though it cost him his life. Breaking this law is punishable by death."

With this, the Third stormed into the Hokage's tower, and made his way to the Hokage's office. 'I'm sorry, Minato,' he thought, 'but it appears that your son will not be seen as the hero he is, but as the fox he holds.' He set the child down in a basket in the office, and prepared to face the council, as he knew they'd try to force him to kill the child. He summoned two of his most loyal ANBU to the room and gave them strict orders to make sure nothing happened to Naruto. The ANBU nodded, and seemingly vanished, though the aged Hokage knew they were still in the room. At this, the Hokage strode to the council chamber to face down the council. Before entering, the Hokage turned and spoke quietly to the small group of ANBU following him. When the anbu vanished in a small puff of smoke, the Sandaime turned, and entered the council chambers.

The council was made up of a mixture of shinobi clan heads and villagers who were elected to their positions. There were the advisors, who were the Third's gennin teammates, and a shinobi called Danzo, who no-one could figure out how he had got a position. When Konoha was founded by the First Hokage, he arranged this to attract more clans to the village, and to make the citizens believe they had a say in how the village was run. The idea was that the Hokage was supposed to hold all the power, but listen to the council's advice. What happened was the Hokage's office had power gradually stripped away, and the council got more say in how things were run. On the right-hand side of the Hokage's chair sat the clan heads, in order of closest to furthest, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akamichi Chouza, Nara Shikaku, Hyuuga Hiashi, Inuzuka Tsume, Aburame Shibi and Uchiha Fugaku. To the left sat the civilians, a mixture of merchants and popular figures. Directly opposite sat his advisors, Komura and Homura, and Danzo, once a candidate for Third Hokage himself.

As the Hokage entered the room, he was met with a barrage of voices, all clamouring for attention. When he sat down, he raised his hand, and silence fell on the council.

"Now, " he said, "I believe you have something you wish to discuss with me."

"Hokage-sama," a pink-haired civilian member started, "we think that it would be in the best interests of the village if the demon child is destroyed."

"Firstly, " the Hokage replied, "his name is Uzumaki Naruto. You would do well to refer to him as that, rather than as the 'demon child', as that would count as breaking the law I put in place earlier on. The punishment for that, if I need to remind you, is death." Here he stared pointedly at each of the members of the council. "Secondly, I will remind you of my words that not harm shall come to this child at the hands of this village."

"But Hokage-sama, we all saw the child. He has whisker marks on his cheeks, blatantly the fox already is influencing him. Killing him would free him from its vile influence." This came from a black haired, onyx eyed man sat amongst the shinobi.

'Ah, so that's your game is it Uchiha,' thought Sarutobi. Out loud he said, "So you are doubting the Fourth's skills then Fugaku?"

"What?" replied Fugaku, "I would never suggest that the Fourth's abilities."

"Then do you question his judgement?"

"Never, Hokage-sama. He was the greatest shinobi to grace this world."

"Then why do you question his last work? He sacrificed himself to seal the fox into Naruto, using the most complex seal I've ever seen. The seal will hold the fox until Naruto dies, and then the fox will be dragged with him."

"Then why wait?" Fugaku questioned. "We could be rid of the Kyuubi forever tonight."

A growl was heard which caught the attention of the council. All eyes were trained on a woman with a shaggy mane of hair, with red fang-like marks under her eyes. "I think I must have misheard you Fugaku. Because I **know** I didn't just hear you suggest we kill a defenceless pup." Fugaku looked a bit shocked.

A hooded man wearing sunglasses sat between the two of them nodded. "I agree with Tsume, it is illogical to kill a child for any reason, let alone one that he has no control over." His words seemed to convince more of the council. He turned to the Hokage, who was glad to see that at least two council members were using their heads. "Who were his parents?"

"We don't actually know, Shibi." The Hokage replied. "I believe that they were in the hospital when it was destroyed, as were the doctors who delivered him. The Fourth decided on his name and told me before he left to seal the Kyuubi." 'I seriously hope they buy that.'

Shibi nodded, then said, "My clan will be logical, and won't attack the child."

Tsume chimed in, "Mine, too, will not harm him, though most will be wary round him because of his scent." She turned to face a trio of men "And what about the rest of you?"

The shinobi on the council just made murmurs of assent, with the exception of Uchiha Fugaku, who looked outraged, and a scarred, black haired man who appeared to be asleep on the desk. When prodded by a large red-haired man sat next to him, he woke up, and promptly muttered "Troublesome," much to the amusement of the large man and a slender, pale-blonde man sat next to them.

The civilians, however, didn't seem too cooperative. A portly wine merchant seemed to be the main aggressor, though when the Third fixed him with a piercing stare, he quietened down. Danzo on the other hand, wasn't cowed, and proclaimed, "Then we should use the child. If he is trained by my ROOT section, he will become a perfect weapon for Konoha." With that, some of the civilians nodded, plainly comforted by the idea of Naruto being used to defend them while being kept tightly controlled.

"I believe there is a better solution. I could adopt the child, thus ensuring his loyalty to Konoha, and I could train him to be the best shinobi ever. After all, who better than a Kage to train a weapon." This came from the Third, trying to convince the council not to go for Danzo's idea.

"My ROOT forces are known for their unswerving loyalty. They would gladly give up their lives for the Greater Good if ordered to."

"The Greater Good!" chorused the civilians, who then looked slightly bemused as to why they'd done that.

"It is not entirely clear just to whom your ROOT are loyal to. Besides, the ROOT are also known for their lack of emotions, which I have already expressed my concerns over."

"The ROOT-"

"Shall not take Naruto without a majority vote from the council," interrupted Homura. "But then neither shall you be allowed to adopt him, Sarutobi, without the same majority. So, those in favour of the ROOT training raise your hand." The civilians, Danzo and Fugaku all raised their hands, while the remaining clan heads, the advisors and the Third did not. "Equal numbers, therefore he won't go through ROOT training. Next, those in favour of adoption by the Hokage." The Third, Tsume and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio all raised their hands, while the remainder did not, meaning... "So, Uzumaki Naruto will be put in an orphanage until he decides to leave, or is adopted. Sarutobi, neither you nor your family may adopt him. Danzo, you may not try to recruit him. Now, let us move onto other matters, involving the reconstruction of Konoha."

Sarutobi nodded, not fully satisfied with how things had worked out. 'I'm sorry Minato, the damn council is always politicking, even just after a tragedy like this. At least I managed to stop Danzo sinking his claws into him.'

After the meeting had ended, Sarutobi made his way back to his office. When he entered, he was greeted by the sight of the bodies of five ROOT members strewn across the room. The two loyal anbu had obviously stopped a power play by Danzo to seize the young Jinchuuriki and ignore what the council had said. However, it was likely that it had been set up before the meeting, so Sarutobi couldn't bring it in front of the council. He now had to dispose of the bodies, and make arrangements with an orphanage to take in Naruto. It was going to be difficult since there must have been many orphans made that night, but doubly so because of the irrational fear of a baby most of the villagers would have. It was at this moment he made a horrifying discovery. Since he'd been reinstated as Hokage, the person having to do the paperwork was ... _HIM_! He began crying. 'You planned this, didn't you Minato? It was all a scheme to get out of paperwork. Hmm, I wonder if there's another Biju around...' This may have seemed a little crazy, and desperate, but remember, you have never experienced the abject horror that is the paperwork of a Kage. Try it for a day, I dare you, and see if you retain your sanity. Then come back and say paperwork is easy or relaxing. At the very least, we'll get to see the Third attack you!

**Let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah, I still don't own Naruto. Don't worry; I've got my lawyers on it. Anyways, on with chapter 2.**

Chapter 2: Bleed for me

Twelve years after the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, and a fierce battle is raging on an unfinished bridge. A large, bandaged man swinging a zanbato is battling a lanky, silver-haired man with mismatched eyes. A pink haired girl is standing in front of an old drunken man, in a feeble attempt to shield him from danger. A black haired, surly looking boy is standing in a dome of icy mirrors, pierced by many senbon needles. A blonde, kill-me orange clad boy lies on the floor near him. And finally, a brunette masked ninja tries to fight his way to his feet in the dome. As the blonde looks round, he says "Sasuke, you saved me. Why...?" He trailed off after finally registering the state that the emo avenger is.

"Heh, dobe. My body just moved on its own," came the reply. He drew in a shuddering breath and slowly collapsed next to his teammate, Uzumaki Naruto (for those who hadn't already guessed.)

"He went to block the senbon, even though he knew it was a trap. And he managed to land a blow at the same time. He was a brave shinobi," said the masked brunette. "Is this the first time you've seen a teammate die?" he asked.

".....Shut up," growled Naruto, as he knelt beside Sasuke. "For what you've done..... **I'LL KILL YOU!!!**" he roared, as a feral red chakra started to form. As he stood upright, eyes tightly shut, the wounds he sustained from the earlier senbon assault rapidly healed. The red chakra coated first his right arm before travelling over his body. His eyes suddenly snapped open, the cerulean blue of his right eye slowly bleeding into the same colour red as the foul chakra surrounding him.

The other two combatants on the bridge stopped the fight briefly, as the sheer amount of chakra flowing from the dome reached them. 'This chakra, is it Zabuza? No, it's too evil to be his....it feels like the fox's! Is the seal broken?'

Meanwhile Zabuza was having similar thoughts to Kakashi. 'What the hell is that? Kakashi maybe? No, not him, but what else could it be?'

'Thank kami, the seal isn't broken. It must have slipped, if I finish this quickly, I might be able to do something.' "Oi, Zabuza. We're both busy men, it goes against the grain to suggest this but why don't we finish this in one move?" called Kakashi, as he withdrew a scroll from one of his jacket pouches. "**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no jutsu**."

The drunken old man shuddered as the chakra washed over him. 'Wha...what is this feeling? It feels....unclean.' Haruno Sakura, the pink haired girl, noticed Tazuna's shudders, and thought 'This is bad. If even a civilian with no ninja training can sense that chakra, it's more powerful than normal. What is causing this?'

Back in the dome, Haku, the masked ninja, had to deal with the full force of the chakra, and it was nearly suffocating him. 'Who... What the hell is he? His wounds have healed faster than anything I've ever seen. And he's growling. He's completely changed demeanour now.' Naruto's eyes narrowed as he locked his eyes on Haku, and he slightly bent his knees. 'He's going to attack!'

Naruto sprang towards Haku, moving far faster than he had managed before. Haku responded by throwing several senbon before jumping to another mirror. The chakra surrounding Naruto flared briefly and the senbon were deflected, before Naruto destroyed the mirror from which Haku had just jumped. 'Impossible, these mirrors can take Zabuza-sama pounding away on them without even cracking. How did a GENIN break something Zabuza-sama can't?' As he thought this, Naruto continued his assault, breaking two more mirrors, before catching up with Haku and grabbing his arm with his left hand. Naruto drew back his right fist, and sent a devastating punch towards Haku's masked face. Before it landed, Haku noticed black markings appear on the knuckles of his right hand. 'What on-' he started to think before the punch landed, tearing consciousness away from him, and also shattering his mask.

Naruto looked at the face of his fallen foe, and instantly recognised him as the boy who he had met the previous day. He felt his rage leave him and the red chakra faded, turning his right eye back to cerulean blue, though with a slight glint of red in his pupil. He rushed to the boy's side and checked his pulse as he had been taught, slightly relieved to find it steady and strong. He wasn't quite ready to make his first kill yet. He noticed that the mist was becoming thinner, and heard a screech similar to a birds cry fill the area.

Zabuza was surprised when unearthly growls sounded all around him. He was stunned when a pack of dogs erupted from the bridge around him and latched onto him with their jaws. Gritting his teeth in pain, he tried to move, but the dogs prevented even the slightest of movement. "How do you like my cute little nin-ken?" asked Kakashi. "If I can't see or hear you, then I can always follow my nose. It's why I let you cut me twice earlier on. Your weapons are coated in the scent of my blood, and my nin-ken can follow it anywhere. Now it's time to end this." He quickly made three hand signs and grabbed his right forearm. A screech filled the air as his hand became covered in lightning. "You really thought I'd become as good as I am through just copying others? It's time for you to meet one of my original jutsu," he said before launching himself at Zabuza. "Now it's time for you to die. **Chidori,**" he cried, before plunging his hand into Zabuza's chest. The kiri missing nin took one last shuddering breath, before falling limp in the jaws of the dogs.

Kakashi pulled his arm out of the corpse's chest, then looked round to see if he needed to aid his students, or suppress the Kyuubi's chakra. He walked over to Naruto, briefly noting that the formerly masked nin was unconscious at his feet. "Well done Naruto, lets regroup with your teammates."

"Sasuke's dead. Over there," he pointed towards the body surrounded by large puddles of water.

"Sasuke-kun!!!!" came a shrill cry from Sakura. "Wake up, Sasuke-kun!" She may have continued on in that vein if she hadn't been interrupted by the sound of slow clapping from the other side of the bridge.

A short man was standing in front of a large group of mercenaries. "I must congratulate you Konoha nins. I expected you all to still be fighting each other, instead of you killing Zabuza. Not that it really matters, I wasn't planning on paying him anyway. Hiring missing nin is so expensive. I think I'll take his precious little sword and hang it on my wall." He kicked Zabuza's body. "He was just a little demon after all his big talk."

"Gato, I presume?" said Kakashi, fingering a kunai. 'Damn it, I'm still low on chakra after using the Chidori. Gotta try to keep him talking until I have enough for a few techniques.'

"Ah, so my reputation precedes me. It's so nice to be recognised," smirked Gato. "Ah, so you didn't kill his little pet. You have my thanks, I've been looking forward to killing him myself." At this, Naruto started to get angry again. The red glint in his right eye started to glow slightly. "If you hand him and the old man over, I'll double whatever the old man is paying for you to protect him. You'll be free to return to Konoha, what do you say?" At this point, Kakashi was having trouble repressing his own anger, and shooting worried looks at Naruto, who's right eye had turned fully red again, and who was trembling in rage.

Faster than anyone could react to, there was a black blade embedded in Gato's forehead right between his eyes. Attached to the blade was a pitch black chain with spikes down its length. The other end of the chain was emerging from Naruto's forearm. As Gato collapsed to his knees, the blade and chain was retracted back into Naruto's arm. The red receded from his eye once more, though if anyone had paid attention, they'd have noticed the glint had grown slightly.

There was a stunned silence on the bridge. Naruto was in a state of shock, having realised that he'd killed a man. The mercenaries were staring in horror at the body of their employer and in fear of the boy who had killed him faster than they could see. Kakashi was looking at Naruto appraisingly, remembering the first life he had taken. He was also surprised by the chain weapon he had used, briefly noting the markings on his hand and arm looked remarkably similar to the weapon. He assumed it had something to do with the Kyuubi. Sakura was lost in her own little world, sobbing over Sasuke's body. "Stop....leaning on......me," came a raspy voice. Sakura stopped mid-sob, and looked down in astonishment as Sasuke opened his eyes. "Sasuke-kun, you're amazing. You survived a fatal wound."

"No," replied Sasuke, removing some of the senbon needles still stuck in him. "He deliberately kept me alive. He couldn't miss from that distance. What happened?"

"Naruto knocked him out, he's over there. I'm sure you could've done better if Naruto hadn't interfered."

'Sasuke's alive. Well, that's a relief! I didn't really want to fill out a KIA form. Cuts into my Icha-Icha time,' thought Kakashi, mind focused on the important things in life.

"Sorry to break up this _touching_ moment!" yelled out one of the lead bandits, "but you just killed our meal ticket. So, we'll just kill you and raid the village behind you to get our pay!" Roars of agreement came from the assembled bandits. As they started towards the group of ninja, a crossbow bolt landed between the groups. The villagers stood behind the ninja, armed with various weapons and tools that looked like they could be handy in a fight. Inari stood in front of the villagers, a crossbow in hand. "To get to the village, you'll have to go through us!" yelled Inari.

Naruto arose from his stupor, and yelled back, "What took you so long?" "A hero always has to enter in the nick of time, right?" "Ha ha ha. Hope you don't mind if I join in. **Kage bunshin no jutsu!**" Four clones of the orange clad ninja popped in existence beside him.

'Hmm, I can't do anything solid at the moment, but a bluff should be more than enough for this.'"**Kage bunshin no jutsu!** Kakashi style." A line of Kakashi clones appeared across the bridge, spooking the bandits who had thought the ninja were exhausted.

"On second thoughts.... RUN AWAY!!!" cried the bandits, abandoning all attempts to look cohesive, or indeed anything other than scared shitless. Once the bandits had fled, both Kakashi and Naruto released their jutsu. Kakashi replaced his hitai-ate over his sharingan eye, wiped his face and shook the blood off of his hand, before dropping to one knee to catch his breath. A loud cheer went up from the villagers when they realised that Gato was in no position to control them anymore. Tazuna quickly put a stop to that, organising the villagers to help finish the bridge and promising they could celebrate once it was finished. The villagers were in a buoyant mood, and quickly got back to work. When asked by the shinobi if they could rest back at Tazuna's house, he agreed and watched as the injured group headed back for some well deserved rest, not realising they were taking Haku with them.

Haku came back to consciousness slowly. He remained motionless, just as Zabuza had taught him, just in case he'd been captured. The first thing he noticed was the rope binding him to the bed. 'Definitely captured then,' he thought. He could feel his chakra being forcefully repressed by something, presumably a seal of some sort, meaning he couldn't use his one-handed hand seals to perform jutsu. 'What happened,' he thought. 'Oh yeah, we were on the bridge, I fought the blonde and the broody kid. I put broody in a death-like state, then got whacked by the blonde.' As if responding to his thoughts, a splitting headache decided to make itself known at that moment, and he couldn't suppress a wince. This was apparently picked up by someone in the room. "Oh, you're awake," came a loud voice. "Kakashi-sensei asked us to let him know when you woke up. KAKASHI-SENSEI! HE'S AWAKE!" The speaker obviously had no regard for Haku's headache and his voice quickly wormed it's way to the centre of his migraine.

"Okay Naruto, you can stop yelling now," came a smooth voice Haku recognised as Kakashi's. "Remember, you gave him a large blow to the head. He quite possibly has a concussion. At the very least he has a massive headache right now."

"Ah.... sorry," said Naruto in a more subdued tone.

"Not a problem, now go downstairs and get your gear together. We head off in about an hour. I have some questions for our guest here."

"Yes sensei." This was followed by the sounds of someone exiting the room, and then silence for a few moments.

"You can open your eyes now. If Naruto says you're awake, you're awake. He's more observant than he lets on. I've drawn the curtains, so the sun won't aggravate your headache," said Kakashi in a low tone. Haku quickly decided to follow his instructions, since he didn't really have much choice in the matter. The room was indeed darkened, his headache easing slightly as he looked around slowly.

"So, Haku is it? I've got some questions for you, and I'm fairly sure you've got some for me. I'll answer yours after you clear a few things up for me."

"How do you know my name?" Haku asked, his voice coming out a little slurred.

"Naruto told me about his meeting with you after he recognised you on the bridge. He told me that if you'd wanted to kill him, you could have done it then easily. From the way you're speaking, I'd say you have a slight concussion. Medic techniques aren't my specialty but this should help," said Kakashi, before his hand started to glow green. Haku noticed with some relief that the headache was subsiding, and it was becoming easier to think. "Thank you."

"I didn't do it simply out of the goodness of my heart. You can't answer my questions if you can't think straight. So, Haku, why did you spare Sasuke?"

"I.... dislike killing. I didn't want another death on my conscience if I could help it. I only kill if Zabuza-sama is in grave danger, and your genin weren't much of a threat to him, so I was allowed to deal with them in my own way."

"Fine then. Next question. Who was Zabuza to you?"

"Zabuza-sama was my master. My only purpose in life was to be his weapon. He saved me, and I owe him my life."

"What do you mean by 'saved'?"

"He found me when I was living on the streets of Kiri. He took me in, fed me and trained me."

"So you weren't formally trained by Kiri?"

"No."

"How did you survive the bloodline purge?"

"....... My mother escaped the purge. She hid herself as a civilian, in a rural town. She fell in love and I was the result. My father though..... hated people with kekke genkais. When I was 6, he discovered my mother had one, and......"

"He killed her didn't he."

Haku simply nodded, blinking back tears. "After he..... killed her, I got home from playing in the village. I saw my mother's body, and my father standing there with a bloody knife in his hands, waiting for me. He was going to kill me too, but my Hyouton awakened. A forest of ice appeared, killing him, and leaving me alone."

"That's all my questions. Now you can ask yours."

"Where is Zabuza-sama? Earlier you said, 'who was Zabuza to you.' Is he...?"

"Dead? Yes, I'm afraid so. I had to kill him, but I think you already knew that. Do you want vengeance?"

"........... No. Now he has died, and I cannot aid him in his dream, I have no purpose. Why am I still alive?"

"Naruto. He recognised you after rendering you unconscious, and told me once the excitement on the bridge was finished. He said you should be given the benefit of the doubt since you hadn't killed either him or Sasuke while you had the chance, and I agreed."

"What will you do with me?"

"Well, we'd like to escort you back to Konoha. The Hokage may grant you a ninja license, though you would have to be closely watched. The council would agree, since you are probably the last with your bloodline. Kiri can't argue, since you were never registered as a ninja there and they probably don't even know you exist. However, you will not be forced into anything you don't want to do."

"Can I see where Zabuza-sama is..... buried?"

"Yes. We'll be visiting his grave before we head off."

"I'll...... need some time to think about things. I'll tell you my decision before departure."

"I'll pick you up then."

The Konoha ninja stood before a recently dug grave with a large sword acting as a tombstone, maintaining a respectful silence as Haku knelt and prayed for Zabuza's soul, tears streaming down his face. After a small amount of time, he stood and faced the others with his head bowed. "I'll come to Konoha, at least for a short while. I may leave after that, but that will be my choice." He turned and pulled the sword from it's resting place, saying "A sword is meant to be used, and Zabuza-sama would rather it were given the chance to spill more blood in the future." He reached into his kimono and removed a scroll, sealing the massive sword into it.

"Well, as his apprentice, I guess his sword is yours to do what you will of it," Kakashi said, slightly wary about a possible attack on himself as vengeance for killing Zabuza. None of his students seemed to notice but Haku did.

"Kakashi-san, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now. I wouldn't use this sword, even though it would be fitting, simply because I am not trained in using it. I'd use senbon," Haku stated calmly, thoroughly amused by Kakashi's reaction. He chuckled when he saw the genin all flinch and Kakashi's visible eye narrow. "I have agreed to meet with the Hokage, and killing my escort would be the height of discourtesy. Besides," he added in a low tone that only Kakashi could hear, "There are better ways to get even. You destroyed my reason for living. What would you do if I destroyed yours?" Haku threw a single senbon into the cover of Kakashi's ever present Icha Icha Paradise novel.

Kakashi gulped, resolving to not let his precious anywhere near Haku.

**Again, let me know what you think. In case you can't tell, updates will be sporadic, since I have to fit this in around work and trying to find a job that can actually hold my attention for more than 5 minutes.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Surprisingly, despite my best efforts, the courts decided I had no claim on owning Naruto. All that's really left to try is coercion. Or, as Anko might say, fun times. Sorry it's taken so long to do this, but I have had a nightmare trying to figure out what Naruto's bloodline should be. I wanted it to be original, but not overpowered. Like my original idea to gradually give him immense chakra, regenerative healing abilities, all elemental affinities and finally perfect control, with no drawbacks. This is going to be better. I hope. Someone may have to stop me making him a combat monster.**

Chapter 3: Mistaken Identity

The Sandaime surveyed the ninjas standing in front of him imperiously, inwardly heaving a sigh. 'Naruto goes on what should be a routine C-class mission, which ends up as an A-class, including his first kill, and he brings home a stray. Goodie, more paperwork to be filled out.'

The ninjas were in a variety of states. Hatake Kakashi stood as he usually did, slumped with his nose in his book. However, his visible eye was slightly bloodshot, indicating a lack of sleep. His posture indicated wariness towards the missing nin, although the Sandaime mistook the reasoning as making sure the foreign nin wouldn't attack the Kage. In fact, both the aforementioned differences were due to the unspoken promise to mutilate his Precious when he least expected it.

Uchiha Sasuke looked an unusual mixture of smug and annoyed. After listening to the report, the Sandaime deduced that the smug look was due to the Sharingan being activated, although the annoyance was harder to place, simply down to the sheer number of things that annoyed him. It could have been the missing nin, it could have been Naruto upstaging him, but privately, the Sandaime was betting on it being fan girls. 'After all,' he mused, 'They are the most loathsome creatures on the face of the earth.' The Sandaime had memories of his own fan girls, back during his first reign as Hokage. Hell, he still had some now, and mentally shuddered at the memory of one rather persistent 69 year old ex-kunoichi flashing him. 'So…. Much…. Sagging!'

Haruno Sakura was standing slightly behind Sasuke, so as to keep him in view as much as possible. Typical fan girl, though in fairness she may have been catching onto the fact that she wasn't attracting attention from Sasuke despite being so close to him most of the time. Or she may have been fantasizing about stealing his clothes while he slept. One of the two. Fan girl facial expressions are impossible to tell apart.

Uzumaki Naruto was an interesting study. He acted the same as ever, loud, boisterous, and unable to sit still or follow a thought through. On the other hand, his eyes seemed a little duller than usual, and there was a slight glint of red in his right eye whenever he turned his head a certain way. Most people would miss it, but Sarutobi wasn't one of the oldest shinobi in the world for nothing, and though his reflexes may have been dulled slightly by the sands of time, his ability to read people hadn't. And right now, he knew that Naruto was struggling with his first kill, even if it had been someone who the world was better off without.

The missing nin, Haku, Sarutobi reminded himself, was standing perfectly serenely in the centre of the room. It was almost as if he didn't care he was in a room with one of most famous ninja's in the world.

"Team 7. Congratulations on a successfully completed mission. Even with the unexpected difficulties, you came through and proved your sensei's faith in you was not misplaced, although you should remember there is no disgrace in returning if the client has lied about the mission. You will receive payment for the original mission which has been upgraded to A-rank. Team 7, dismissed." Kakashi nodded, then ushered the genin outside, leaving the Hokage with Haku, aside from the hidden ANBU of course.

"Well, Haku-kun, now what do we do with you? You are obviously talented enough to have defeated Sasuke-kun and attract the interest of Kakashi-kun. And yet, you chose not to kill either Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun when they were vulnerable, even though it was well within your abilities to do so. May I ask why that is?"

"I….. I'm not really fond of killing people. If there is a chance that I could disable my opponents without killing them, I would always take it. Zabuza-sama didn't approve, but he didn't force the issue. Now I see that if I had been able to kill Naruto while he was asleep, Zabuza-sama would not have died. Though I am glad I don't have more blood on my hands, I will have to live with the fact that Zabuza-sama's death was my fault. What was that technique that Naruto used to defeat me anyway?" replied Haku.

"It is not my place to say. If you want that information, you will have to ask him and him alone. Now, would you be willing to become a Konoha shinobi? Would you be willing to pledge allegiance to the leaf, and carry the Will of Fire with you?"

"….Will of Fire?"

"It's part of the induction speech laid down by the Niidaime. Sensei always was a bit poetic and it carried over to the official speeches he did."

"Oh, OK. I accept your invitation, Hokage-sama."

Three hours later, Haku was finally able to leave the Hokage's office with his brand new leaf hitai-ate. Registering someone as a shinobi who had no formal training was a paperwork nightmare. His accommodation was sorted fairly easily. Though Sarutobi was a little concerned with letting Haku stay too close to Naruto, in the end he didn't really have much choice. He wanted Haku to stay near to one of the people who brought him back, and the only spare apartments near any of them were near Naruto due to the more fearful citizens moving out of them. They hadn't wanted to stay too close in case the Yondaime's seal broke, and an angry Biju was released. They hadn't had shinobi training, so their response was quite natural, even if Sarutobi didn't like it. On the other hand, there were plenty of unbiased jounin in the building, so it was fairly secure if Haku proved to be a problem.

The Hokage had determined that Haku would be graded in a spar against a jounin as to what level he stood at in three days time. He would also see about Haku getting some medical training, since he'd expressed an interest in becoming a combat medic and had some experience treating Zabuza's wounds. Since Tsunade had left, however, the medic program had deteriorated in quality. The best were still very good, but the rest were not up to the high standards of the past.

The time before the spar was to get a rudimentary knowledge of the village. He'd been given access to training ground 7 to make sure he was in peak condition. Right now, he'd decided he needed some sleep, so he headed to the address he'd been given. Once on his floor, he was surprised to come face to face with Naruto.

It had been a long trip for Naruto. He had tried to act normally on the way back from the mission, which meant being obnoxiously loud and incredibly irritating. He managed this by asking out Sakura repeatedly, until she actually got bored rejecting him and pulled a Sasuke. He then moved onto Sasuke and tried to get into arguments over basically nothing. It was a non-starter really. Sasuke just hnned, and mentioned that now he had activated his bloodline, the gap between them would only increase, and that was all he had to say on the matter. Finally, he moved onto his last target – Kakashi. The rest of the way back, he nagged, bartered with, attempted to blackmail, and finally begged the jounin to teach him a cool jutsu. Kakashi turned him down each time, stating that he needed better control of his chakra before Kakashi would teach him a jutsu. It was with no great relief for all concerned when Naruto was distracted by the gates of Konoha coming into view.

All throughout the debriefing, Naruto tried to not think too much. He had a feeling that the Hokage could tell something was wrong, but hopefully he wouldn't be called on to tell the old man about it. He liked the old man, he really did, but he wasn't a person that Naruto could feel he could go to about doubts. About the feeling of guilt he felt every time he thought about what he did on the bridge. No, he wouldn't dwell on it. He'd find Iruka-sensei, go for ramen, and try to get everything straightened out. Iruka-sensei was a better choice anyway. He could easily be suckered into paying for Naruto's meal. He also gave pretty good advice, though the ramen was the main thing.

The meeting ended, and Naruto was gone, disappearing off towards the academy, barely hearing Kakashi mention a few days down time without training or missions to recover. He bumped into Iruka downstairs in the Hokage tower, almost literally. With a little begging and a 'Puppy Eye no Jutsu', Iruka was coerced into buying ramen. Naruto paid homage to the ramen gods and finished his first two bowls before Iruka could get his attention.

"Naruto, what happened on the mission? You're not quite acting like yourself," asked the chuunin, concern etched on his face.

Naruto was silent for a couple of seconds, and then replied, "I killed a man on the mission sensei. A man called Gato. He hired two missing nin to kill our client, and then came to make sure we were all killed, including the missing nin. I got so angry, and then he died with a blade on a chain in his head."

"Naruto..... If you hadn't killed him, he'd have had you and your team killed. He would have killed your client. By killing one man, an evil man, you saved their lives. It's something you may have to get used to. Now, do you want some more ramen?"

Naruto was quiet for a few more seconds, and then "RAMEN!!!" Iruka chuckled, and ordered a few more bowls. He heard Naruto whisper "Thank you sensei," to him, and smiled. He knew he'd just helped Naruto through a crisis of sorts, and if he needed to, he'd do it again.

After Naruto finishing another five bowls of ramen, Iruka decided his wallet had taken enough of a pounding for one night, and refused to pay for any more bowls. In his mind, he decided that if he needed to help the blonde again, he wouldn't volunteer to pay for his ramen addiction. Naruto grumbled for a couple of minutes, but eventually he headed for home. As he unlocked his apartment door, the sound of footsteps attracted his attention. Since his row of apartments was unoccupied apart from him, he was surprised that anyone was around. He was even more surprised when he saw that the approaching person was Haku.

"Haku? What are you doing here?"

"Ah Naruto. Sandaime-sama mentioned that you lived here as well. I've been given an apartment here, since there were some free. Could I get you to show me around tomorrow, since I don't know my way around yet?"

"Meh, sure. I've got a couple of days off anyway. Ooh, could you help train me? Teach me some of those kick ass ice jutsu of yours! "

"I'm sorry Naruto, but you can't learn them. Only people with my bloodline can use them. I could teach you better chakra control at least."

"Thanks Haku. But don't think you getting out of showing me those ice jutsu. I'll find a way to use them, as sure as my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"That's... nice, Naruto. But I think we need to get some rest before tomorrow, so knock on my door around 9, ok?"

"Fine, goodnight Haku." With this he went into his own apartment, head filled with thoughts of Ramen, kick ass jutsu and beating Sasuke into the ground.

**Slightly shorter than the other chapters but this was written to fill in Sarutobi's reaction, and deal with Naruto's first kill. Some feedback would be appreciated, as it's a toss up between this and the two new stories at the moment as to which gets updated the most.**


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